Western Alberta Transmission Line Application

Notice of rescheduled public hearing and community hearing session locations

The process to consider the AltaLink Management Ltd. application requesting approval to

construct and operate the Western Alberta Transmission Line, briefly described below, has now

resumed. The process began in January 2011 when the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)

launched an enhanced process, but was suspended at the request of the Minister of Energy. The

Minister requested the AUC resume its consideration of the application and the Commission has

now resumed the process.

The public hearing to consider the Western Alberta Transmission Line application will

commence at 9 a.m. on June 11, 2012, at the Holiday Inn on 67 Street, Winspear room,

6500 67 Street, Red Deer, Alberta.

The AUC requests that anyone who intends to participate in this proceeding and has not

already done so, submit the information outlined below, before April 16, 2012. Please

clearly state Proceeding ID No. 1045 on your submission.

Brief description of the proposed Western Alberta Transmission Line:

The project consists of four main components:

Construction of a 500-kilovolt (kV) alternating current (AC)/500-kV direct current (DC)

Sunnybrook 510S substation, which would contain the north converter station, to be

located in the southwest quarter of Section 36, Township 50, Range 3, west of the Fifth

Meridian and in the northwest quarter of Section 25, Township 50, Range 3, west of the

Fifth Meridian.

Construction of a 240-kV AC/500-kV DC Crossings 511S substation, which would

contain the south converter station, to be located in the northwest quarter of Section 16,

Township 23, Range 27, west of the Fourth Meridian.

Construction of approximately 347 kilometres of 500-kV DC transmission line 1325L

connecting the proposed Sunnybrook 510S substation to the proposed Crossings 511S

substation.

Construction of a 500-kV AC Bennett 520S substation to be located in the southwest

quarter of Section 16, Township 23, Range 27, west of the Fourth Meridian. The Bennett

520S substation will only be required if the AUC approves AltaLink’s preferred route for

the transmission line.

A detailed description of the Western Alberta Transmission Line project is set out in the

application available from the electronic filing services on the AUC website (www.auc.ab.ca).

Hard copies of AltaLink’s application are also available for viewing at the local libraries in the

following communities: Warburg, Ponoka, Rimbey, Eckville, Sylvan Lake, Innisfail, Olds,

Crossfield and Red Deer (downtown branch).

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Options for participation in the public hearing:

If the Commission has granted you standing, you may choose to participate in the public hearing

in the following ways, which are not mutually exclusive. For example, you may file a written

submission and also provide a verbal summary of your submission at one of the community

hearing sessions. If you have not applied for standing and would like to participate in the

hearing, please contact the AUC as soon as possible.

Option One: Public hearing

The Commission will hold a public hearing on the Western Alberta Transmission Line

application, commencing at 9 a.m. on June 11, 2012 at the Holiday Inn on 67 Street,

Winspear room, 6500 67 Street, Red Deer, Alberta. Due to Commission member

availability, the hearing will not run from Wednesday, June 27, 2012 to Tuesday, July 3,

2012. The hearing will then resume on Wednesday, July 4, 2012.

If you intend to participate in the hearing you must file evidence in writing. If you have

already filed evidence and want to file additional evidence, or you have not filed evidence

but want to do so, please file your evidence by April 16, 2012.

Evidence should include the following information:

Your name, land location and mailing address, telephone number, and email address.

Your representative or lawyer’s name, address, telephone number, and email address.

A summary of the facts you propose to present at the hearing.

The names of the experts whom you intend to call as witnesses and summaries of their

qualifications.

Whether you intend to present a panel of witnesses to support your position.

A statement of the conclusion that you would like the Commission to reach.

A summary of your efforts, if any, to resolve issues associated with the application with

the applicants.

Hearing participants may hire experts and legal counsel to assist in preparing and presenting

evidence in support of their position at the hearing, or they may choose to represent

themselves. Participants with standing may be eligible to recover reasonable costs incurred

in support of their participation in the hearing. Please see AUC Rule 009: Local Intervener

Costs for more information. If you are not sure if you have standing and qualify to recover

your costs to participate in the hearing, please contact the AUC using the contact information

provided below.

The AUC will broadcast a live audio stream of the hearing. Any member of the public that

has access to the Internet will be able to listen-in on the hearing. The audio feed can be

accessed from the home page of the AUC website (www.auc.ab.ca).

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Option Two: Community hearing sessions

You may make an oral submission up to five minutes in length to the Commission at the

following community hearing sessions.

Date and time Location

June 11, 2012, 7 p.m. Holiday Inn 67 Street, Winspear room

6500 67 Street, Red Deer

June 12, 2012, 7 p.m. Rimbey Community Centre

5109 54 Street, Rimbey

June 13, 2012, 7 p.m. Didsbury Memorial Complex

1702 21 Avenue, Didsbury

June 14, 2012, 7 p.m. Indus Recreation Centre

225155A Range Road 281A, Indus

Additional community hearing sessions may be added if required. However, if there is not

enough interest in a particular session, the AUC may reschedule, change or cancel some or

all of the community hearing sessions.

To make an oral statement, you must register on or before April 16, 2012 by calling

780-427-4901 (press 1 when prompted), or emailing consumer-relations@auc.ab.ca with the

following information:

Your name, land location, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.

Which of the above community hearing sessions you will attend to make your oral

statement.

Option Three: Written statements

You may submit a written statement to express your views about the proposed project, which

will be considered by the Commission when making its decision. Written submissions must

be filed with the AUC on or before April 16, 2012. Your written submission must contain

your land location, mailing address and, if applicable, an email address. If you have already

filed a written submission, you do not need to re-file it.

How to file a submission:

The AUC prefers that submissions be filed using the Digital Data Submission services found

under e-filing services on the AUC website. Guidelines on how to access and use the e-filing

services are in the AUC Electronic Filings Services brochure, available in the Newsroom section

of the AUC website. For additional assistance, please call 780-643-1055 or email

systemservices@auc.ab.ca.

Alternatively you can email your submission to filings@auc.ab.ca or fax a copy to the AUC at

403-592-4406, clearly stating Proceeding ID No. 1045.

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Schedule for the remainder of the proceeding:

Date Process step

April 16, 2012 Deadline for filing new or additional evidence, registering to make an

oral statement at a community hearing session, filing a written

statement

April 30, 2012 Deadline for AltaLink reply evidence

June 11, 2012, 9 a.m.

Public hearing commencement

Winspear room, Holiday Inn 67 Street, 6500 67 Street, Red Deer

June 11-14, 2012,

7 p.m.

Various community hearing sessions as noted in Option Two in the

Options for participation in the public hearing section above

June 27-July 3, 2012 Public hearing break

July 4, 2012, 9 a.m. Public hearing continues

Winspear room, Holiday Inn 67 Street, 6500 67 Street, Red Deer

Privacy:

Please be aware that any statement or information you provide to the AUC is part of the public

record, unless you apply for and are approved for an exemption in advance of filing.

Contact the AUC:

Details of the Western Alberta Transmission Line application and how to get involved in the

hearing process are available on the AUC website (www.auc.ab.ca).

For more information contact the AUC directly at:

Telephone: 780-427-4901 and press 1

Email: consumer-relations@auc.ab.ca

The AUC is a quasi-judicial regulatory body responsible for making decisions about utility-

related applications, such as building transmission lines, substations and power plants. The AUC

is responsible for making decisions about the siting of electric transmission lines and other

related facilities.

Issued on March 6, 2012

Alberta Utilities Commission

Douglas A. Larder, QC, General Counsel

Follow the Alberta Utilities Commission on Twitter and Facebook.

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R.22 W.4M.R.24R.26R.1W.5M.R.3R.5R.7

PREFERRED TRANSMISSION LINE ROUTEALTERNATE TRANSMISSION LINE ROUTEOPTIONAL TRANSMISSION LINE ROUTE

FORT